Call forwarding is a well-known technique where a potential called party who will be away from his/her associated communications device, e.g., a voice and/or data device, can direct a communications system to redirect incoming communications for that called party to another communications device specified by the called party. Most recently, this technique has been updated to provide priority call forwarding wherein redirection of the incoming communications is only provided if the incoming communications originates from one or more priorly identified telephone numbers, extensions or names. This enhancement is known as priority call forwarding. In any event, to activate call forwarding, the prospective called party first provides a predetermined code word to a communications system via a keypad or telephone dial. Next, the communications device to which incoming communications for that called party are to be forwarded is identified by providing its telephone number or extension.
In call forwarding, the other communications device to which incoming communications are forwarded can be either wired or wireless devices. Wired communications devices are those which utilize a "wired" signal-conducting link or path between the communications device and a communications system, such as a central office switch or private branch exchange (PBX). The wired link can take many forms, other than air, including a number of different kinds of metallic conductors or optical fibers. In contrast, wireless communications devices, such as pagers and cellular radio communications devices, utilize air as the wireless path to transport signals to and from the communications system. The distinction between paging and cellular radio devices resides in their communications capabilities. Paging devices are portable, generally one-way communications devices which respond to associated radio signals which are broadcasted by emitting an audible and/or visual alarm to indicate that an incoming communications for the person carrying the pager has been received. The pager may indicate the telephone number from which the incoming communications originated or the person may simply call a predetermined telephone number to receive this information. Radio cellular devices, on the other hand, provide full two-way communications capability and allow a person having such a device to directly respond to incoming communications.
While call forwarding has provided a tremendous benefit in both work and home environments, there are a number of shortcomings. For one, the called party must know in advance the telephone number or extension of the communications device to which incoming communications are to be forwarded. In addition, once activated, the called party must remember to deactivate the call forwarding. Otherwise, calls will be forwarded even when the called party is no longer at that other communications device. Moreover, present call forwarding techniques can be burdensome as an individual who moves about must inform the communications system of each move by updating the telephone number or extension of the communications device to which incoming communications are to be forwarded.
To avoid these shortcomings, individuals have frequently turned to the use of portable, wireless communications devices which may be transported with them and thus have the capability of responding to their incoming communications regardless of their location. Pagers or cellular radio devices, however, are not panaceas. For one, such devices and especially cellular radio devices are expensive. In addition, in many situations, such as manufacturing, hospital, and general office environments, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to meet the requirements for high-quality, two-way wireless communications from any location due to the presence of noise and other communications-degrading influences. While pagers are less expensive, they may be inconvenient for many applications where an immediate response to an incoming communications may be necessary and the reality of having the called party initiate a call to each calling party is not satisfactory.
It would, therefore, be extremely desirable if the present techniques for call forwarding could be improved to overcome the shortcomings associated with this communications feature.